Sustainability Works

The EPA has recently launched two new tools to assist local governments in complying with clean air regulations and creating community plans to encourage conservation. One of the tools is called AVoided Emissions and geneRation Tool or AVERT. Many states and localities have adopted energy efficiency/ renewable energy (EE/RE) programs to encourage energy conservation and reduce the amount of emissions produced by energy production. Local government officials, policy professionals, and other stakeholders can use AVERT to assess the effectiveness of their EE/RE programs. AVERT is a one stop shop for publicly available data on emissions from electric power plants. Now stakeholders can download the AVERT data to compare emission rates from before or after EE/RE program implementation, or even among different regions to get a better understanding of how the EE/RE programs are affecting air quality. To explore the new AVERT program, visit http://epa.gov/avert.

The second tool is called the Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series. To create this strategy series, EPA compiled and analyzed many different state and local strategies for GHG (greenhouse gasses) emission reduction and energy efficiency. The EPA also compiled many related studies and reports from think tanks, and advocacy groups. The results of this compilation are several easy to follow strategy guides for improving air quality and increasing conservation. The strategy guides are divided into five subject areas: energy efficiency, transportation, community planning and design, solid waste and materials management, and renewable energy. Many of the guides feature case studies from select state and local governments making it easier for stakeholders to assess which strategies are most relevant to their community’s needs. Now state and local government officials can use this tool to plan new strategies or evaluate and revise existing ones. To learn more about this new EPA strategy series, visit http://epa.gov/statelocalclimate/resources/strategy-guides.html.